Improvement in fence-posts



"UN TED JOHN W. LAT'CEER A D TsUE rsMrrH, 0F JOHNSTOWN, New YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN FENCE-POSTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. R6,09 '7, dated September 28, 1875; application filed May 17, 1875.

To all whom it may'concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN W. LATGHER and TRUE J. SMITH, both residents of the village of J ohnstown, in'the county of Fulton and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fences, of which the following is a specification:

The object of our invention is to make/a cheap and reliable 'wire-fence, or such a one aswill possess a greater degree of strength than those heretofore used, by having the posts thereto formed with aspiral 'or corkscrew point, having two or niore coils to hold with a firm grasp, the-whole of which is made to enter the ground by applying a wrench to the upright portion of the posts to which the wires are attached, and screwing said posts into the ground,requirin g no holes to be made for the reception of the said posts previous to setting them.

Another object is attained by the use of the spiral posts in gullies and depressions in the land, as also in localities where the lands are frequently overflowed or submerged by freshets.

It is obvious that the posts cannot be withdrawn from the ground with an upward or even a lateral strain. v I

It will also be understood that said posts, including both screw and upright, which latter holds the wires, are formed from one solid piece, and are made of wrought-iron, preferably, for the reason that the heaving or expansion of the soil by frost would destroy the coils of the posts were they made of any brittle metal.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct the same, we will proceed to describe it, as follows: 7

Figure 1 represents the fence as applied to uneven ground. Fig. 2 exhibits the spiral or cork-screw post with an chor-brace keyed thereto. Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are sections of wrought bars of which the posts may be constructed, each having a certain advantage in some particular over the other.

These posts are believed to possess greater strength in the required direction than any other now in use.

Thebars may be coiled, when of the form represented in Fig. 5, flatwise or edgewise, ac cording to the purposes for which the post is to be used, to wit: If for a hitching-post, then coil it while in aheated state around a suitable ar-' bor or shaft flatwise if for a guy-anchor, then" coil it edgewise, as shown in Fig. 2, which will resist an upward or longitudinal draft. When cables or ropes are to be applied or attached thereto,then said anchor postshould bescrewedi afar greater distanceinto the ground than when for strains and other uses, as the greater the distance into the ground the more firm will it and the anchor-piece 0 should lie horizontally on the surface of theground and in a flat position. Said anchor-piece should be keyed to the post A b in the manner shown in Fig. 2.

The iron known as star, a section of which is shown in Fig. 3, as also the round iron, Fig. 4, should should be used for end and corner posts.-

The anchor-brace 0 should be applied to the post above described in all cases where lateral strain is brought to bear against the posts.

Another great advantage these posts possess over others lies in the fact that they. are firmly intertwined with a greater area of earth, and compress the same more closely, thereby affixing themselves more firmly in the soil.

The points 01 of the base anchor-piece O are driven their full length into the ground it will, therefore, be observed that the application of this base-piece 0 enables the screw-post to resist great lateral strain or thrusts.

Holes are formed in the upright portion of the post A b for the reception of the wires, as shown in Fig. 2.

In gullies or depressions in the land the basepiece 0 may be dispensed with, as the strain of the wires is upward when the same are contracted by frost.

We are aware that screw-braces or rods used in pairs and secured to the fence posts or standrards, have been in use; but in these no provision was made or'intended for the reception of the wires in the same pieceon which the screw-point was formed, and they, too, were intended to be used only on fences whose weather exposure was entirely made of wood.

We are also aware th at fence-posts have been made having single screw-points, as in Middletons Patent No. 94,124, August 24, 1869; but in these instances the standard or post was bifurcated at its lower end, round which a coil was twisted, showing that the soil or ground would have to be broken by the forked arms within the coil when the post was rotated into the ground, thereby reducing its resisting capacity, and said posts were also made of several pieces, necessitating much labor and expense in their construction.

We are also aware that horizontal supports have been in use; but in those instances they were not keyed to the screw post A b as in our invention.

Continuity of material and integrity in construction are, of course, essential where a powerful strain is requisite in turning the screw end into the earth.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A fence-post formed of one solid piece of iron, provided with a screw-point, b, and upright A, in combination with the anchor-piece G keyed thereto, as shown and described.

JOHN W. LATOHER. TRUE J. SMITH.

Witnesses:

JERRY KEOK, J. M. DUDLEY. 

